SU only caught the end of last night’s Yankee game but I make the following observation. Michael Kay will often reference the nature of the shift but they rarely show how the fielders are positioned on TV. It’s interesting to see exactly what the hitter sees when he steps to the plate.

Case in point. In the 9th inning, Anthony Rizzo is up with one out and the Yankees down 2 runs. In this instance, they did show the shift. 4 outfielders, one infielder on the left side of the infield near 2nd base and the 2nd baseman playing softball style in short right field. So, what’s the objective if you are Rizzo? Um, get on base right? So, he bunted down the 3rd base line – perfect. Ball skipped past 3rd base into foul territory. Heady play to bring the tying run to the plate with Judge on deck.

When you go to a game in person, you see the shifts on every play. It is striking how much of the field the defense leaves open. And it is equally striking how most hitters – and I put that in the 99% category – ignore the shifts. SU knows it’s hard to hit a 98 mph fastball exactly where you want it but the opportunity is staring you in the face. It is very frustrating to watch the Yankee “sluggers” hit into the shift over and over again. Smart money says that if you go the other way, teams will alter their defensive strategy. I guess there isn’t much smart money in baseball these days.

The broadcasts should show the defense alignment more often. It really is interesting and amazingly frustrating for fans to observe how hitters attack it.

A lot of talk today about John Sterling’s inaccurate home run call with Stanton up and the team down 2 runs last night in the 8th inning. He went into his “It is high, it is far, it is GONE” call and naturally, the ball was caught on the warning track. Long-time Yankee fans are used to this. If you are ever listening in the car, you learn to wait – and listen to the crowd – as he can’t be trusted. SU actually doesn’t care anymore. He is 80-something years old and unlistenable. It’s better to follow on mlb.com on the phone and avoid the radiocast. And it’s nothing to do with age – this has been an issue for a long, long time.

Is Gerrit Cole still an ace? Or without Spider-tac, is he just another hard thrower? SU says it’s still just April and you have to give him some time to round into form. He’s a smart dude and will figure it out.

Should Kershaw been allowed to finish his perfect game yesterday? Temperatures in the mid-30s and only 80 pitchers through 7 innings. SU says it was the right decision to pull him. Even with Gary Sanchez probably coming up again which makes the job easier. This is a guy with a history of arm problems, and you can’t risk the whole season in early April with his track record. Sure, a perfect game is a big deal but we all remember Santana on the Mets who blew out his arm completing a no hitter. The Dodgers’ manager made the right call there.